Researchers from Oslo University Hospital set out to identify microRNAs in urinary exosomes that are differently expressed in prostate cancer patients and healthy donors. For this purpose, RNA was extracted from urinary exosomes from 20 prostate cancer patients and 9 healthy males and the microRNAs were analyzed by next generation sequencing. Interestingly, 5 microRNAs – miR-196a-5p, miR-34a-5p, miR-143-3p, miR-501-3p and miR-92a-1-5p – were significantly downregulated in exosomes from prostate cancer patients. Furthermore, RT-qPCR analysis of an independent cohort of 28 prostate cancer patients and 19 healthy males confirmed that miR-196a-5p and miR-501-3p were downregulated in prostate cancer samples. These results suggest that specific microRNAs in urinary exosomes might serve as non-invasive biomarkers for prostate cancer. In particular, miR-196a-5p and miR-501-3p are promising biomarkers that need to be further studied in large patient cohorts.

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What is Exosome RNA?

Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles that are present in many and perhaps all biological fluids, including blood, urine, and cultured medium of cell cultures. Exosomes contain various molecular constituents of their cell of origin, including proteins and RNA. It is becoming increasingly clear that exosomes have specialized functions and play a key role in, for example, coagulation, intercellular signaling, and waste management. - from wikipedia